UPCOMING EVENTS
Venice Culture Salons
Resuming Friday, July 31 from 3:00 pm–4:30 pm
Venice-based curator, filmmaker, and interviewer Gerry Fialka hosts a series of Venice Culture Salons at VHM, where guests discuss varied topics on Venice’s past and present. The special guest this month is Richard Modiano, exploring early film history in Venice.
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Beginning in April 2024 and continuing regularly since, Venice-based curator, filmmaker, and interviewer Gerry Fialka hosts a series of Venice Culture Salons at VHM. These free, public events are billed as “live oral history,” where guests discuss varied topics on Venice’s past and present. In parallel with these interactive discussions, participants in the Salons have amassed a list of all known performers on Venice's Ocean Front Walk from the mid-20th century forward.
Dozens of special guest speakers have been invited to the Salons. The special guest this month is Richard Modiano, exploring early film history in Venice including Charlie Chaplin (Kid Auto Races, 1914; The Circus, 1928); Buster Keaton (High Sign, 1921); Quicksand, 1950, with Venice resident Peter Lorre; Orson Welles (Touch of Evil, 1958); Roger Corman (Bucket of Blood, 1959, and Wild Angels, 1966); and Curtis Harrington (Night Tide, 1961).
PAST EVENTS
The Legacy of Jesse Ed Davis
Saturday, July 25, 2026
Featuring: a reading by historian Douglas Miller from his recent book, Washita Love Child: The Rise of Indigenous Rock Star Jesse Ed Davis (2025), accompanied by an archival photo presentation; a panel discussion with musicians who played alongside Jesse, including Jim Keltner, Elliot Easton, Bob Glaub, and Steve Jenkins (Director, Bob Dylan Center, Tulsa); and a live acoustic set by Scott McCaughey, performing from his upcoming album of Jesse Ed Davis covers.
Venice-opoly Launch Party
Saturday, November 8, 2025
Newly produced by Mark Rago, Venice-opoly relocates the classic board game from Atlantic City to our beachside community on the West Coast.
Punk Show at Venice West in Support of VHM
Tuesday, August 12, 2025
Featuring: Angry Samoans, No Reaction!, Terminally Ill, and M.V.N.
Classic Car Show
Sunday, August 10, 2025
Featuring cars from the Venetians Car Club and the Venice Drop Tops. Hosted by Yolanda de Cordova & Marilyn Ramirez
Special Guests: Chicano poet, author, and radio host Matt Sedillo.
Fourth Fridays
2025
Guided Exhibition Tours
May 2025
Curator-led tours of current exhibitions at VHM.
Venice Vibrations Fundraiser
Saturday, May 11, 2025
Featuring live music, art, community, and more in support of Keeping Heritage Alive! Co-hosted by renowned jazz journalist and KCRW personality LeRoy Downs and feature powerhouse performances by two iconic bands with deep Venice roots: Venice and Cosmic Vibrations.
Book Launch: Accidental Friend
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Join us for the launch of a new novel by local author Susan Josephs. Partly inspired by the legacy of Venice's historic Jewish community and the Israel Levin Center, Accidental Friends (Bedazzled Ink Publishing, 2025) tells the story of two women in Venice from two different walks of life who connect after a tragedy.
1st Anniversary
Sunday, March 9, 2025
One of the ways in which the museum works to preserve, showcase, and nurture the diverse stories of Venice is through our Oral History Project. Visitors on March 9th will have the opportunity to record their own five-minute oral history, telling their story of Venice on video for inclusion in the museum's archive.
Local Photographers Speaker Series:
Peewee Califas, Natasha Hurrell, and Kei Rowan-Young
Sunday, March 2, 2025
This third event occurs during Women's History Month and features practicing documentarians who photograph Venice in both overlapping and divergent ways. The group will be in conversation with Marilyn Ramirez from VHM.
Oral History Speaker Series #3: Naomi Nightingale, PhD, Jataun Valentine, and Rusty Smith
Sunday, February 16, 2025
This third event occurs during Black History Month and highlights Venetians whose lives and stories have been intertwined with the local African American experience and greater seaside community across generations. Moderated by Alison Rose Jefferson, MHC | PhD, from the Venice Heritage Museum.
Local Photographers Speaker Series: Paulo Freire Lopez
Sunday, November 24, 2024
This second event features the work of Paulo Freire Lopez, a documentarian focused on the Westside's deep-rooted communities. A committed street photographer, Lopez's images present the people and events that define Los Angeles, with a strong emphasis on the fight against cultural erasure in the face of gentrification. Lopez will be in discussion with Marilyn Ramirez and Anthony Carfello from VHM.
3rd Annual VHM Film Festival
Sunday, October 20, 2024
Featuring: The Sound of Paint (2024; excerpt) directed by Joshua Enoch Williams; Venice America (2024) directed by Stanley Mitchell; Where Has All The (affordable) Housing Gone (2023–24) directed by Judy Branfman; Wade in the Water: A Journey into Black Surfing and Aquatic Culture (2023; shortened) directed by David Mesfin; and the IN VENICE Trilogy (2022) directed by Sarah Niemann and Svenja Albers.
Oral History Speaker Series #2:David Hertz, Steven Ehrlich, Thom Mayne
Sunday, September 22, 2024
This second event highlights the work of three world-renowned architects whose practices have defined the spaces and places of Venice throughout recent decades. Moderated by Andrew Perchuk of the Getty Research Institute.
1915 Venice Grand Prix
August 18, 2024
Harold Osmer is the author of Where They Raced, Santa Monica Road Races (1909–1919), and the Saugus Speedway Scrapbook. His books have garnered awards from automotive enthusiast groups including the Motor Press Guild, American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association, and Society of Automotive Historians. He is on the Board of Directors for the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame.
Venice Premiere: Of All the Gin Joints
Thursday, July 25, 2024
A new documentary by David Kornfield that shares the story of Venice's famed Mexican seafood restaurant, Casablanca. Both a much-loved, family-run restaurant and a DIY museum dedicated to the classic Humphrey Bogart film of the same name, Casablanca was founded in 1980 by Carlos Haro, Sr., who had opened several local dining establishments by then after coming to Venice from Guadalajara. This feature-length work celebrates the dedication of the Haro family in keeping this Venice institution open to the community while the surrounding neighborhood has seen great change.
Local Photographers Speaker Series: Josh "Bagel" Klassman & Marilyn Ramirez
Sunday, July 21, 2024
This first event features two photographers whose work figures prominently in our current exhibition, This is some place. Josh “Bagel” Klassman’s images are widely known for documenting Venice’s skate culture in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Marilyn Ramirez shoots the scenes and landscapes of Venice today that are charged with both stillness and action. In Conversation with Anthony Carfello from VHM.
Menudo Madness on a Sunday Afternoon
Sunday, July 21, 2024
Join us at the Venice Heritage Museum for the first Menudo Madness on a Sunday Afternoon. This car show in the museum's parking lot also features homemade menudo by Chef Paul Baca, as well as music by Jimmy Jams and shirts sold by Venice Native. Details: Classic Cars roll in at 7:30am. Only thirty-five spaces available inside parking lot. Classic cars only, no exceptions.
Oral History Speaker Series #1: Dolores Deluce, Karen Rosenhoover & Daniel Samakowz
Saturday, June 15, 2024
Join us for the start of an ongoing series of live conversations with participants in the VHM Oral History Program. This first event occurs during Pride Month and highlights Venetians whose lives and stories have been intertwined with the local LGBTQ+ community. Moderated by Andy Sacher from The Lavender Effect.
Venice Culture Salons with Gerry Fialka
2024
Venice-based curator, filmmaker, and interviewer Gerry Fialka hosts a series of Venice Culture Salons at VHM. These free, public events are billed as “live oral history,” where guests discuss varied topics on Venice’s past and present. In parallel with these interactive discussions, participants in the Salons have amassed a list of all known performers on Venice's Ocean Front Walk from the mid-20th century forward.
Local VHM Holiday Party Fundraiser / photographs by Rod Bradley
Saturday, December 9, 2023
Join us for the start of an ongoing series of live conversations with participants in the VHM Oral History Program. This first event occurs during Pride Month and highlights Venetians whose lives and stories have been intertwined with the local LGBTQ+ community. Moderated by Andy Sacher from The Lavender Effect.